Pack Violet Shadow

by C. M. Stunich

  Great.

  Now I had two sarcastic a-holes to deal with.

  Unsurprisingly, lecture was cancelled.

  It was a little difficult to teach a class when you were, you know, dead. Drained of blood. Dragged from the forest by the ankle. That was the last I'd seen of Professor Heath, but there was no doubt in my mind that he really was dead.

  A note was taped on the door outside the lecture hall where our wildflowers class was usually held, just a vague scribble explaining that Mr. Heath would not be in today, but that we should check back on Wednesday.

  And only we knew the real reason why—our fucking professor had been drained by a daywalking vampire. The very same daywalking vampire that I was supposed to pair up with for our final project.

  Nic and I exchanged a glance and stepped away from the door so our classmates could read the hastily scrawled message.

  “No fair—you guys have a get out of class free card?” Faith said from behind me. I turned to look at her, a sick sense of dread twisting my stomach into knots. Not only did Monday mean facing Julian and the truth of what was happening to my pack members, it also meant that I had to look my best friend in the eye and know that her mother was dead, that her dogs were dead, and that with every second that passed between us, I was lying by omission.

  It also meant I had to stare at Owen, leaning casually against the wall next to her, hands folded behind his head like he was some sort of slouchy badass or something. God, he's such a douche.

  “Guess so,” I said, trying to keep my voice light and fluffy and cheerful. Inside, I was drowning in secrets. Honestly, I'd considered not coming at all today. In fact, I'd planned on using this Monday as a rest day long before the Pairing even rolled around. I'd figured after all the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony, I'd need a moment to myself.

  I'd been right.

  But circumstances being what they were, I'd made the decision to carry out the plan Nic and I had come up with to follow Julian. That is, if he even showed up today. He of all people should know that Professor Heath wasn't coming to class.

  Besides, Faith had stayed the night at Nic's place again and needed a ride. If I left her to her own devices, she'd probably just lay in bed with Owen all day.

  “You're so lucky,” she said with an exaggerated eye roll, “I have a test today and I so did not study.”

  I gave her a look and a raised eyebrow, just like I would have on any normal day. Although today … was anything but normal.

  “Hey Zara,” a voice said from behind me.

  Nic let out a little growl that I stamped down by grasping his left hand with tight fingers. A quick look soothed his metaphorical hackles before I glanced over my shoulder with a faux smile plastered on my face.

  “Julian,” I said brightly, trying to keep the images I'd seen yesterday from infiltrating my mind. Julian's sharp white teeth puncturing Mr. Heath's throat, the vampire's pale skin shining under the bright rays of the sun, the limp way my professor's body sagged in his aggressor's arms.

  I made myself turn around, wishing that I had more than just Nic for backup. But the boys and I had decided together that if a bunch of random werewolves were to show up at the university all at once, Julian might get suspicious. They were just a stone's throw away, close enough to smell trouble if there was any but far enough away that Julian wouldn't sense them there. Like I said, a werewolf's sense of smell is three times better than a vampire's.

  “I was just wondering,” he started as I surreptitiously sniffed the air around him. Like the Unseelie Queen had said—he must be using witch hazel. That mint, apple, and blood smell was completely gone. Instead, Julian actually smelled like a human. I wondered if that was from casual contact with other students … or the dying touch of a recent victim. Hell, as far as I knew, he could have a human chained in his basement for the sole purpose of rubbing their scent onto his clothes. It'd be a smart way to fool a werewolf. We grew up learning to trust our noses and right now, Julian smelled as unassuming as any other human in this hallway. “Since class is cancelled, did you want to hang out in the student lounge and start planning our project?”

  The way he said the words … you'd never know that he was responsible for a man's death just twenty-four hours prior.

  Even though it hurt my mouth, I made myself keep smiling back.

  “If it's okay with you,” I said, hiking my book bag a little higher on my shoulder, “I'd rather just keep our Tuesday appointment. Nic and I are gonna go grab something to eat.” I shrugged loosely. “I was running late this morning. No time for breakfast.”

  Julian's brown eyes stayed on mine, searching me out, studying me. He looked at me like he had insider knowledge, something I was either too stupid or naïve to figure out. Joke was on him; I knew everything.

  “No problem,” he said, but I could hear the disappointment in his voice. Goose bumps rose up all across my arms. Sorry dude, but whatever you've got planned for me, I'm gonna have to cancel; there's no way in hell this wolf is becoming fuel for your next daywalking adventure. “Tomorrow, we can even head over to my place if you want—it's within walking distance.”

  Julian paused and reached up to ruffle his dishwater brown hair with long, pale fingers, pretending to be the sheepish boy next door instead of the murdering monster he really was.

  “Just as friends, of course,” he said to Nic.

  “Of course,” Nic growled back, with a little more force than necessary. Julian just laughed and nodded at Faith and Owen before turning and heading toward the closest exit. Maybe it was just me, but it looked like he was walking a little faster than normal.

  “You guys are going out to eat?” Faith asked, yanking on my book bag strap. “If you bring me something back, I'll love you forever.”

  “You'll love me forever anyway,” I said with raised brows, turning my fake smile her way. Looking at my best friend, it should've been real … but then my mind filled with images of revenants and blood and it was all I could do not to throw up. “Now go to class. I'll meet you at the SUV after.”

  I turned away and headed after Julian before he could get too far ahead of us. When I glanced back, I saw Owen meandering toward the student lounge, checking out girls' asses as he went. Unfortunately, Faith didn't notice, slipping into her classroom and letting the door slam behind her.

  “You ready?” I asked Nic as we stepped into the bright sunshine, the yellow rays reflecting off the stubborn white cling of snow on the landscape and blinding us. “This could get ugly.”

  “I'm counting on it,” he said with a grim half-smile, shooting off a text to Anubis.

  Within a minute, he was jogging into view, lifting up the fabric of his hoodie and unhooking the two badass toolkits from his waist. I hadn't wanted to bring them into the school with me for fear Julian would scent the wood and bone tools inside, but I sure as hell wasn't about to follow him to wherever without them.

  “Stay right behind us,” I reminded Anubis Rothburg as he blinked red eyes at me, his blue-black hair comically spiked and standing straight up on the top of his head. He looked like an anime character with that do. “And keep your phone on.”

  “Yes, Alpha,” he said with a slight smile, waiting while we used the cover of a tree to put our belts on and hide them with our coats. “Be careful out there, okay? If you die, I might get mated to your creepy little sister.”

  I flashed a grin at him before taking off in Julian's direction, following the subtle human scent he'd left in his wake. It was almost too faint; if I'd been anyone else, I might've had trouble keeping up. But there was a reason I'd gotten a reputation as the White Wolf.

  Nic and I didn't talk, not even with wolfspeak. Instead, we focused on keeping as much distance as possible without losing Julian. It was a little tricky, I'll admit. The University of Oregon campus was riddled with smells—and not just from humans. Here and there I'd pick up the scent of something decidedly not human—a skin-walker, a weretiger, a fae, a witch. As we l
eft campus, it got even worse, restaurant smells and car exhaust mixing into the medley and trying to trick my nose.

  'Left?' I asked at one corner as Nic lifted his head and let his nostrils flare wide as he tried to get a read on our target.

  'I think so,' he replied, but he sounded just as unsure as I felt.

  We continued on anyway. If we lost the trail, it wasn't the end of the world. Tomorrow, I'd get another chance. Hell, tomorrow I'd get an invitation. But I really, really wanted to find this place today. Not only did it give me an extra twenty-four hours to figure out how to deal with Julian, but he wasn't expecting me right now. Tomorrow, he would be.

  Three blocks later, down a tree-lined street with sidewalks still sprinkled with snow, I thought we were done for, Julian's faint scent melting away to join a thousand other ambient smells in the air.

  'There,' Nic said, using wolfspeak as he put a hand on my arm and brought us to a stop. At the end of the block, on a corner lot taken up by an old blue and white house, there was Julian. He was leaning casually against a tree and smoking a cigarette, like the world was exactly what it looked like at face value. Normal, unassuming, everyday.

  Nic and I ducked low behind a parked car and peered through the windows. Vampires might be lacking in the smell department, but their eyesight is just as good as ours—maybe even better. Still, I was banking on the fact that he wouldn't see us because he wasn't looking for us. People—even vampires—only see what they want to see.

  We'd just settled down to watch when a car pulled up to the curb and a dark-haired woman got out, heading over to the passenger side door to open it. As soon as she did, a familiar scent rushed out at me, almost knocking me onto my ass.

  The person that stepped out of the car, heavy and pregnant, face wrinkled with worry, was the former Omega Female of Pack Ebon Red, the woman who'd served as nanny and babysitter for most of my life.

  'Fuck.'

  Nic said it first, although I was thinking it.

  We exchanged a quick look before turning back to the distorted view through the car's windows. Like a lamb headed to the slaughter, Selena followed the woman—presumably another daywalking vampire—over to Julian. Pleasantries were exchanged and then … she walked right up the steps and into the house.

  The sound of the door slamming behind her had an ominous ring to it. Had I been in wolf form, all of my hair would've been standing on end.

  The question was: was Selena helping Kingdom Ironbound or was she another victim?

  I had a feeling my time for figuring out the answer to that question was limited at best.

  It was time to accept the Unseelie Queen's invitation.

  “That vampire woman,” I said as I sat in the shade of a large blue spruce, a veritable feast laid out on the blanket in front of me. One of the boys—I think it was Anubis—had gathered up a bunch of leftovers from last night's banquet and made a picnic basket out of it. The venison steak I'd been too stressed to eat yesterday melted against my tongue like butter. Even cold, it was goddamn delicious. “She had the faintest scent of wolf on her—and not Selena's scent either.”

  As good as the food was, it did nothing to hide the bitter taste that filled my mouth at the thought of my former babysitter. She was either a captive … or a traitor. Regardless, that didn't sit right with me.

  “Anyone you recognized?” Montgomery asked, more interested in taking mental notes than eating. All the other boys—save Jaxson—were shoving their faces full while the Alpha Sons of Pack Ivory Emerald and Azure Frost watched me with tight lips and wrinkled brows.

  “It was clearly pack, but I couldn't put a name or a face to the particular scent. It was too weak for me to even say which pack, although there's no doubt in my mind that that woman's been in contact with a wolf other than Selena.”

  Anyway, as close as the packs were, with over five hundred thousand werewolves living in North America alone, it was impossible to know everyone. Even if I had gotten a really good sniff, the best I could hope for was to identify the specific pack rather than the individual.

  “Do you think being booted from the pack was cause enough for your omega to deflect to the Bloods?” Jax asked, repeating my worry aloud. I couldn't decide which was worse—the woman who'd practically raised me being involved in this mess or becoming a victim to it.

  I sighed and leaned back, looking up at branches heavy with melting snow. A single cold drop fell onto my lips and I licked it away.

  “The question is: do you think an omega would even have the gall to pull a move like that?” Che asked, and I heard Nic give a derisive snort. Maybe fucking Che Nocturne just two days after the Bonding Ritual wasn't the best idea?

  I'd been driven by primal lust … but now tensions were sky-high. Sky-fucking-high.

  “You don't know a damn thing about Selena,” Nic groused and I swear, I could feel Che smirking at him.

  “Then why don't you tell me, Ebon Red?” he purred in that sumptuous voice of shadows.

  “Hey,” I said, dropping my chin and taking a deep breath. Both Nic and Che—the only two people I'd ever had sex with—stared back at me with dark, considering eyes. I ignored them both, reaching inside the front pocket of my black hoodie and withdrawing the pair of maps. As soon as we'd arrived back at the Pairing House, the boys and I had spent hours putting little stickers on all the spots where pack members had gone missing. Hours of tense, uneasy silence.

  I was done with it.

  “I don't know what's happening with Selena,” I said as I fingered the scrolls and let my eyes drift around the circle of alpha males. Tidus was smiling at me; Anubis was hanging on my every word. The others were more reserved: Jax and Montgomery listened intently while Nic and Che glared at each other. Silas and I locked gazes just before he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and made the rest of the boys groan. “But we can't exactly waltz in there and find out for ourselves.”

  If I could have, I'd have stormed the house and dragged Selena out myself—either to rescue her or interrogate her. But rushing into a house full of vampires was a bad idea on the best of days. Even if I took all the boys with me, the chances were that we'd be outnumbered. Besides, there was no way to know if an Ageless—a vampire over a hundred years old—was waiting in there, too. If so, there was always the possibility, however remote, of being rolled—i.e. hypnotized—and brought under their control.

  Especially if a fight broke out first.

  Yes, werewolves were resistant to ambient magic, but with enough injuries, that resistance started to break down. Before the fight was over, the eight of us could end up on our knees licking the vamp's feet, rictus grins tearing across our bloody faces.

  “This is our Contribution,” I continued, unrolling the new map for a brief moment. It looked like it had some kind of weird disease now, covered in all those tiny black sticker dots. It was both disheartening and invigorating, seeing the enormity of the problem but also knowing we were making at least some sort of progress on it. The one thing that'd become abundantly clear from this particular exercise: the pack disappearances were not exclusive to Ironbound territory.

  Either they'd recently lost a lot of ground to other vampire Kingdoms—like they'd done with Crown Aurora—or else the kidnapping, draining, and eating of werewolf flesh was not limited to a single group of Bloods.

  No.

  Based on the random clusters of disappearances around the continent … it looked like more than one Kingdom was involved.

  My best option at this point was to eat the queen's mushroom, visit Faerie, and see what help—and at what cost—the Unseelie were willing to offer me.

  I was so not looking forward to it.

  “This is our Contribution,” I repeated, rolling the maps back up and tucking them into the picnic basket, “and we have a responsibility to follow every lead to its final conclusion. Clearly, the witches fed me Ebon Red flesh for a reason. They want me to know. That scares me, boys. Really and truly frightens me.” I looked up at them
all, each pair of eyes their own unique color.

  My gaze landed on the matching aubergine shine of my guard's.

  “Zara,” Nic started, because he was pretty clearly in the let's-not-do-this camp. And with good reason. I wasn't arguing that this was a move without risks, just that it was a move we needed to take.

  “This could be a trap,” Jax added, just as calm and placid as always. He was sitting with one knee popped up, his white blonde hair appearing far more yellow than usual against the backdrop of snow. Montgomery's on the other hand practically blended into the landscape. “How do we know the Unseelie Court isn't in league with Kingdom Ironbound and Coven Triad?”

  I took another deep breath and then pulled one of the faerie queen's mushrooms from the same hoodie pocket. We'd gathered up both rings worth, so there were enough for everyone, but that it didn't make it any easier for me to take the plunge. I'd never been to Faerie, but I'd heard horror stories. Majka still whispered when she spoke of the place.

  I studied the purple and white mushroom between my fingers, turning it in a slow circle.

  “We don't,” I said, but we'd already discussed this, hashed it out as a group in the SUV on the way home. It was all we'd talked about since the Julian/Selena incident that afternoon. Hours of alternating debate and tense silence between me and my boys, and I knew we were split down the middle, fifty-fifty.

  I had to be the tiebreaker; I had to make the decision.

  I was the Alpha.

  “But if the queen were already working with the Kingdoms, she wouldn't need to trick a small contingent of wolves into Faerie,” I said with another long inhale of the cool, crisp winter air. “No, she'd already know that between the court, the coven, and the kingdom … that we were screwed.”

  And then before I could think twice about it, I popped the damn mushroom in my mouth. If I'd let myself mull it over for even a minute longer, I'd have probably talked myself out of it altogether.

  For about three seconds, I was just sitting there chewing and wrinkling my nose at the rubbery texture of the raw mushroom.